Corporate typefaces in the automotive industry

Bald Condensed24 March 2009 · 19:370 votes

Audi recently introduced its new Audi Type, as did Toyota their Dalton-Maag designed custom typeface in January. I know BMW, Skoda and Mini also use exclusive Dalton-Maag designs, Opel’s was drawn by Robin Nicholas for Monotype Custom Fonts Solutions, Volvo has Volvo Broad, Jaguar has its eponymous corporate faces by Adrian Williams, Volkswagen uses a custom version of Futura art directed by Spiekermann and designed by Luc(as de Groot for MetaDesign, and Mitsubishi Motors Europe acquired exclusive license for Alpha Headline fonts until the end of 2012.

Does anyone know of fairly recent examples of custom typefaces used by car companies? Citroën’s looks custom to me, but I haven't found any information on that one yet.

Conversely does anyone know of car brands that use commercially available typefaces to great effect? I saw a car brand consistently use Klavika not so long ago but can't seem to remember which one it was. And I thought Ford used Trade Gothic Extended, but either I'm wrong or they switched to Helvetica Extended.

beejay24 March 2009 · 19:430 votes

nice overview Yves.

on a similar note, I've always wondered who creates the logotypes / nameplates for various car makers.

I saw a car brand consistently use Klavika not so long ago but can’t seem to remember which one it was

Chevy has used a customized version of Klavika for a while. Just saw it used again last weekend.

Bald Condensed24 March 2009 · 19:440 votes

> I’ve always wondered who makes the logotypes for the nameplates for various car makers.

Jean François made Lion for Peugeot, that I know.

Bald Condensed24 March 2009 · 19:460 votes

And Renault Identité for Renault.

Bald Condensed24 March 2009 · 19:490 votes

> Chevy has used a customized version of Klavika for a while. Just saw it used again last weekend.

Indeed. thanks for helping me find that one. :^)

beejay24 March 2009 · 20:100 votes

nameplates

oops, my terminology is a bit off. :)

EMBLEMS
at Cartype.com, from Carlos Segura.

maybe not germane to the thread, but a good side link if you write about cars and type.

Si_Daniels24 March 2009 · 20:190 votes

Some suggestions for the "big 3"

GM - Mad Cash
Ford - Clunker
Chrysler - Lemon Lies

Bald Condensed25 March 2009 · 04:010 votes

I found out Landor Associates did the recent rebranding of Citroën, but no mention of who designed the corporate typefaces. Does anybody have contacts in Landor?

pvanderlaan25 March 2009 · 05:540 votes

Conversely does anyone know of car brands that use commercially available typefaces to great effect?
Lexus uses FB Nobel Light caps for headlines to great effect I think. Initially I thought it was a custom job until I discovered a pdf that proved me wrong.

-Paul van der Laan
www.type-invaders.com

Nick Cooke25 March 2009 · 06:160 votes

Hi Yves, I did the custom Vauxhall family which is used for all advertising and brochures etc in the UK, (well, everything really).

Nick Cooke

Ramiro Espinoza12 December 2016 · 08:150 votes

Don't forget the Mercedes-Benz's corporate typeface. It even has a sans version.

Albert-Jan Pool12 December 2016 · 09:200 votes

The Daimler-Benz corporate typeface is called Corporate A·S·E. It was designed by Kurt Weidemann in close collaboration with URW. A stands for Antiqua (roman serif), S for Serifenlos (sans serif) and E stands for Egyptienne (slab serif). The slab serif is rarely (if at all) used. Corporate A·S·E started as an exclusive corporate typeface, but a part of the deal with URW was that this restriction would only last several years. That’s why it is generally available for licensing.

Hrant H Papazian12 December 2016 · 11:460 votes

I didn't know Corporate A·S·E was now available for general licensing!

Captured from web.archive.org on 11 Feb 2018. view this capture